YOPR: 57. Enter ... The Lizzinator
On April 19, MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS: ONCE AND ALWAYS premieres on Netflix. I’m writing about all 60 episodes of MMPR’s first season in the lead-up to that premiere.
If you’d like to follow along on this rewatch, entirety of MMPR’s first season is available for free (with ads) on YouTube.
One-sentence synopsis: Here lizard, lizard, lizard.
Why it matters: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s star was among the brightest of any action star throughout the 80’s and 90’s, and thus his accent and iconic lines (“I’ll be back.”) were referenced to the ends of the Earth. In the grand scheme of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, “The Terminator but as an evil, muscular lizard” isn’t exactly a hard leap to make, but it’s a hardy reminder that, for as uber serious as some people (author included) sometimes try to take this material, it’s a live-action show that revels in its cartoonish elements. The choice to make Lizzinator a full-on Arnold Schwarzenegger spoof is a cultural mile marker; it’s not something that a Power Rangers writer would do in 2023 because he’s not relevant at all to the kids watching at home, but also because “culture” doesn’t function in the way it once did – the idea of a celebrity with near-100 percent recognition is a thing of the past. MMPR was just one of dozens of kids (and adult) shows aping the future California governor when it did so. It was part of the crowd, when such a thing existed.
Episode MVP: YouTube metrics. Have you ever perused the official Power Rangers YouTube channel for things like episode view counts? “No, I’m not a weirdo like you!” is a totally appropriate response to that question. This weirdo can share with you that this episode is the least-watched of any MMPR season one episode on the channel, and by a significant margin; as of early April 2023, it had not cracked six digits for its view count (the only episode with that distinction). Is that revelatory in any way? I’m not sure. It’s a late-season episode, which isn’t necessarily a disqualifier but doesn’t help if you’re expecting viewers who start at the beginning of the season to watch through its completion without skipping around. The episode’s quality is fine enough. I don’t really have an explanation – I personally think it’s one of the “lesser” post-“Doomsday” episodes, but that’s an opinion rooted mostly in “vibes” more than anything – but I do think it’s something interesting to ponder, even if there’s no actual meaning behind it.
A good quote: “I bet Rita gives us a big reward for finally doing something right.” – Baboo
Rating: 2/5 pom-poms